as they say
Per common parlance
A phrase that frames an expression as common wisdom or a familiar saying rather than the speaker's own words: Time heals all wounds, as they say.
It can introduce clichés, proverbs, or idioms with slight detachment—acknowledging you're borrowing language rather than coining it.
Sometimes used ironically to distance oneself from a hackneyed phrase while still using it.
- so to speakPhrase signaling loose usage
- if you willPhrase hedging word choice
- as it wereQualifier for imprecision
- proverbiallyAs wisdom phrases state
- allegedlyClaimed but unverified
supposedly · rumor has it · common knowledge · common parlance · conventional wisdom · cliché · the story goes · folk wisdom · hearsay · gossip · apparently · reportedly · quote unquote · air quotes · wink · wink wink · nudge · nudge nudge